Specter is undergoing chemotherapy during which he'll continue working.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/16/specter.cancer/
I didn't know it was Hodgkins, that does have a better cure rate when it is caught early. I don't know about stage four, a lot would depend on where it has spread. The fact that he has the fevers and symptoms means that the cancer in his lymph system has depressed his immune system, increasing the likelihood of secondary infections like pneumonia. It still doesn't sound good.